Best Books of 2023! 📚

I read 300 books in 2023; here are my top 20! xx
---
MY BOOKS:
PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH THIS EXHIBIT tinyurl.com/jndk3dpk
MARCELINE: DEFENDER OF THE SEA tinyurl.com/52za9cuj
THE SISTER WHO ATE HER BROTHERS tinyurl.com/7d266zxj
THE GIRL AQUARIUM: tinyurl.com/yc6tn9xs
THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT tinyurl.com/lnz5bb6
FRANKLIN’S FLYING BOOKSHOP: tinyurl.com/hlsgkjq
FRANKLIN AND LUNA GO TO THE MOON tinyurl.com/yb2xnuv2
FRANKLIN AND LUNA AND THE BOOK OF FAIRY TALES: tinyurl.com/y2g9wqv5
THE BOOKSHOP BOOK: tinyurl.com/qbs3d2p
--
Things mentioned:
Join me on Patreon: / jenvcampbell
Get 65% off Gousto: (affiliate link) www.gousto.co.uk/raf/?promo_co...
International Booker Prize vlog • Reading The Internatio...
Women's Prize vlog: • Reading The Women's Pr...
Booker Prize vlog: • Reading the Booker Pri...
2023 stats video: • 2023 Wrap Up! Stats, C...
Prophet Song by Paul Lynch*
Playing Games by Huma Qureshi*
The Subtweet by Vivek Shraya
Diary of a Void by Emi Yagi
Chrysalis by Anna Metcalfe*
Open Up by Thomas Morris
All the Little Bird-Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd Barlow*
Is Mother Dead by Vigdis Hjorth
The Employees by Olga Ravn
Ms Ice Sandwich by Mieko Kawakami
Idol, Burning by Rin Usami
Ordinary Wonder Tales by Emily Urquhart
All Yours by Claudia Pineiro
Children of Paradise by Camilla Grudova*
The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi*
Watching Women and Girls by Danielle Pender*
I’m a Fan by Sheena Patel*
The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham
How Kyoto Breaks Your Heart by Florentyna Leow
The Hierarchies by Ros Anderson*
--
WHO I AM
Hello, I'm Jen Campbell. I'm an award-winning poet and bestselling author of twelve books, spanning short stories, poetry, picture books, and nonfiction.
My books for adults include The Beginning of the World in the Middle of the Night, The Girl Aquarium, The Bookshop Book, and The Sunday Times bestselling Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops series. My picture book trilogy Franklin and Luna, and my middle-grade book The Sister Who Ate Her Brothers, are published by Thames & Hudson. I've won both an Eric Gregory Award and the Jane Martin Poetry Prize, and my books have been translated into twenty languages.
I've worked in the publishing industry for over fifteen years, initially as a bookseller, and now as a freelance editor, content creator and disability advocate. I review books online, in print and on the radio. I run a KZbin channel where I talk about books, the history of fairy tales, and the representation of disability and disfigurement. I also offer online writing workshops and editorial services, give talks at schools, publishing companies, universities and book festivals on a variety of topics, and I run a book club for TOAST clothing.
If you would like to speak with me about the possibility of working together, please get in touch via email: [e-mail] x
-
Where to find me:
Website: www.jen-campbell.co.uk
Editorial services: www.jen-campbell.co.uk/editorial
Writing Workshops: www.jen-campbell.co.uk/writing...
Instagram: / jenvcampbell
Patreon: / jenvcampbell
Events: www.jen-campbell.co.uk/events
Podcast: www.jen-campbell.co.uk/podcast
Storygraph: app.thestorygraph.com/profile...
Email: [e-mail]
(Since starting KZbin, some of you have been asking what's wrong with my hands. This video should answer any questions :) • My Disability | EEC Sy... )
This video contains no sponsored content. Any books marked with * were kindly sent to me for review.
#Booktube #FavouriteBooks #BestBooks

[@jenvcampbell]

Thanks for watching, everyone! What were your favourite books of 2023? x

[@tirarosaurioreads]

Mine where "Our Wives Under the Sea" by Julia Armfield and "Swimmers" by Julie Otsuka. I loved them both and as different as they are from each other I just cant choose over the other!

[@hopefullyherereading]

Watching this made me realize how many of your recommendation I read through the year (it’s a lot). So thank you.

[@GettingHyggeWithIt]

Just took five million screenshots! So many books to dive into!!

[@KyWill-ji8sg]

I had an amazing reading year and out of 118 books I had a top 12 1.Maps of our spectacular bodies-Maddie Mortimer 2.Soldier, sailor-Claire Kilroy 3.Song of Achilles-Madeline Miller 4.Creatures of passage-Morowa Yejidie 5.Demon Copperhead-Barbara Kingsolver 6.Prophet Song-Paul Lynch 7.Ghost story- Peter Straub 8.The trees-Percival Everett 9.My year of rest and relaxation-Otessa Moshfegh 10.A brief history of seven killings-Marlon James 11.Bandit Queens-Parini Schroff 12.Glory-NoViolet Bulawayo Quite a few I read because of you, so thanx haha

[@benreadsgood]

Thanks for sharing Jen - love the mix and happy to see I’m A Fan make the cut! 🎉

[@Bearcub599]

Thank you for this review. Very helpful

[@elizabethgriffith8684]

Yay!!! My absolute favourite video of the year!!! I find so many new favourites through your recommendations so thank you:) I am so happy to see All the Little Bird Hearts on this list. It was also a favourite of mine this year, I had a full on ugly cry at the ending. Also happy to see Prophet Song as your number 1 because I just picked it up so now I'm excited to crack into it next. I hope you had a wonderful and relaxing holiday season:)

[@d1ame]

Thank you for this list Jen, I´ve been following you for a while now, and I have to say, your recommendations never disappoint. I really enjoy the way you explain and review books and also your passion for literature. I think you're brilliant! A hug from Costa Rica!

[@KendraWinchester]

That description of All the Little Bird-Hearts is perfection. My heart still hasn’t recovered since I first listened to it. 😭❤️

[@kategriffiths9777]

My favourite books of 2023 were Owlish and also Please Do Not Touch This Exhibit

[@jenvcampbell]

❤

[@HollyDunnDesign]

My top three books of 2023 were Chlorine by Jade Song (sorry😂), Honeybees and Distant Thunder by Riku Onda and The Will of the Many by James Islington. All three will be going onto my favourites of all time list. ❤ Chrysalis, Playing Games and Prophet Song are all high on my TBR. Thank you for your recommendations, Jen!

[@user-hv9km3ni2i]

My favourite video of the year ❤

[@Hannah0105]

Some great recommendations. I want to read The Hierarchies and Diaries of a Void. My favourite book this year was Elena Knows which you recommended previously. Thanks for your weekly videos, I always look forward to it

[@Rosalind_Jane]

just to let you know I find it really helpful that you list the books in the description. Also this reminded me of your review of Is Mother Dead? which made me very keen to read Vigdis Hjorth. I've only read Will and Testament so far, bought because the cover is one of my favourite paintings. I absolutely loved it and look forward to Is Mother Dead? next. I started following your channel in 2023 and have a very long and exciting reading list as a result. Thank you.

[@laurayt3]

I loved Chrysalis! Thank you so much for the recommendation ❤

[@mehreenali5475]

Hi Jen, I eagerly wait for your favourites video. ❤ So many great titles here. I'm particularly intrigued by Chrysalis, The Centre, and The Hierarchies. Would certainly be picking these up. My favourite fiction in 2023 was Elena Knows by Claudia Piñeiro (recommended by you, of course). And my favourite non-fiction was Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed.

[@mradcaqbdb]

So interesting to hear that Claudia Pineiro’s summer release is related to All Yours! I’m even more excited that my copy of All Yours is on the way across the pond so I can be ready to read the new one this summer! My fiction top 10 for 2023: A Little Luck - Claudia Pineiro Clytemnestra - Costanza Casati Address Unknown - Kathrine Kressmann Taylor Black Butterflies - Priscilla Morris Wandering Souls - Cecile Pin The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels - Janice Hallett Trespasses - Louise Kennedy Grave Expectations - Alice Bell None of This is True - Lisa Jewell A Murder in the Family - Cara Hunter

[@robgst100]

Great list. I love hearing you talk about books. My favs of the year were probably Diary of a Void or Book of Goose or Is Mother Dead.

[@renebecker5503]

Firstly, I love your channel, thank you. Secondly! I finished Prophet Song just before Christmas and it gutted me. It was so beautiful, yet so upsetting. i keep thinking about it...

[@jacquelinemcmenamin8204]

Only two books on your list overlap with mine All The Little Bird Hearts Prophets Song So others on my best of 2023 are The Road to Dalton by Shannon Bowing ( debut) Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur We Are Called to Rise by Laura McBride The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride The Wren, The Wren by Anne Enright The Bee Sting by Paul Murray Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton Close to Home by Michael Magee ( debut) Crow Lake by Mary Lawson Fellowship Point by Alice Elliott Dark All That’s Left Unsaid by Tracey Chein The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue The New Life by Tom Crewe My number one book was Deluge by Stephen Markley 🍀👋☘️☕️📖📚📕🇮🇪

[@alphabuild6904]

Books that stayed with me the most were Creatures of Passage, I who have never known men, Kindred, Night Waking and Animal Farm (which was a first time read for me). I also read some memorable non fiction, Alice Millers For your own good and Susan Forwards Toxic Parents. No easy reads but very insightful.

[@AKBooks-fe7nf]

I read Ms Ice Sandwich after you recommended in your gift guide video comments and I really loved it! Thank you Jen.

[@jenvcampbell]

Hurray! x

[@YourTrueShelf]

I really liked children of paradise, even though I didn't expect to do so!! I've added playing games to my wishlist. My top 3 were a place for us (thanks to you and I'm sooo glad I read it!), bridge of clay by Markus Zusak and in memoriam by Alice Winn.

[@katgman59]

Thank you for talking about Ms. Ice Sandwich. Loved Convenience Store Woman so looking forward to reading this.

[@jenvcampbell]

I hope you enjoy it x

[@chaptersandchatter]

Ooo so many great sounding books here, some that I hadn't heard of before. Particularly interested in How Kyoto Breaks Your Heart. I also read Watching Women and Girls and loved it, interested to see more from the author!

[@jenvcampbell]

Yes, me too, excited to see what she does next. x

[@kathleenwalsh3556]

Hi Jan such a good list. Just finished NFrench's The Favour. Good.

[@hannahlosttheplot]

I think some of my favourites this year were actually ones that I picked from your best books of 2022 - Elena Knows and Our Wives Under the Sea. I also loved Prophet Song, so glad it won, and All the Little Bird-Hearts was my second favourite on the long list. I'll definitely be heading to Is Mother Dead and The Employees this year, and the Danielle Pender is still sitting on my shelf unread!

[@MercysBookishMusings]

I've only read two of these (the subtweet and all the little bird hearts) but I really enjoyed them both. I'm most excited to read ordinary wonder tales and playing games but you've convinced me to add loads of them to my tbr 👍

[@karenmiddlebrook5069]

You said the magic words "Muriel Spark", I'll be getting All Yours asap 😂 loved Idol, Burning. It's a world I've never known, so it was fascinating. The Last Devil to Die was my top read of the year, as very invested in the characters. Wandering Souls, Remarkably Bright Creatures, So late in the day, Birnam Wood, How high we go in the dark (joint first), Dice, Yellowface, Eileen, and Our wives under the sea.

[@maartjedegroot9598]

I loved Prophet Song. I’m a fan and Diary of a void are on my tbr.

[@nanana_naaaa7346]

the way after hearing “if you want your heart to be smashed into tiny pieces” the book immediately landed on my tbr… 😂🙈

[@carmenvaldebenito5197]

My top 3 for 2023: Leave the world behind, Piranesi and Anima, by Wajdi Mouawad, a book I think you would like. Looking at my copy of Prophet song from my desk and now more eager to get to it. Thanks for this list, Jen, I got several titles to add to my wish list.

[@Hillary429]

Read the hierarchies on your recommendation and I thought it explored a lot of aspects of robotic/AI women that I hadn’t thought of in a very calm and interesting way while still keeping me gripped to know where we would go next.

[@azu_rikka]

You inspire me to read Prophet song, Is mother dead and The center! My three favourite books of 2023 were The Neapoletan Quartet by Elena Ferrante, Titus Groan by Mervin Peake and Home by Marilynne Robinson Love your channel, I hope your pregnancy is going well and baby is behaving 😊!

[@MmllePertiwi]

A standout for me for 2023 was The Long Form by Kate Briggs - set over a single day a young woman looks after her 6 week old baby. Exploring narrative and time and the novel form - so interesting! I read it 39wks pregnant and now as the parent of a 4wks old I'm still thinking about it.

[@MilenaReads]

Idol burning sounds so interesting!

[@jenvcampbell]

Let me know if you enjoy it if you decide to pick it up x

[@jillschroeder5553]

Oooh yes, Prophet Song gave me a tummy ache, I really tensed up! Adored Diary of a Void. The Break by Katherena Vermette and Prima Facie by Susie Miller are right up there for me.

[@hasteyebooks]

The Hierarchies sounds so intriguing and terrifying. Watching Women & Girls is going straight on my tbr - obsessed with the gaze in my current PhD research. I also keep meaning to pick up a Vivek Shraya book!

[@jenvcampbell]

❤️☺️

[@martynaprazynska1466]

amazing! definitely going to check out some of the titles. one of my favourite books of the year was Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez

[@jenvcampbell]

Thanks for sharing ☺️

[@ryanand154]

The Ear Canal by Simone Verity was the best book this year. It has a bizarre shell structure where metaphor goes inside into itself.

[@ryanand154]

The coils are sick.

[@sophiej4204]

This year I loved Penance by Eliza Clark and Speak of the Devil by Rose Wilding (a fabulous feminist crime novel set in Newcastle on New Year’s Eve 1999 - so good)! Very excited for the new Claudia Piñeiro, as I picked her up last year after you recommended All Yours and Elena Knows (and loved both) x

[@heymimee]

my top favourites were the Neapolitan quartet, The List by Yomi Adegoke, and The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

[@lunasparks12]

Such a great book review of your favourites Jen. I'm not sure where you get your books from but aside from The Midwich Cuckoo's and I'm a Fan my library does not stock any of them, they are not even available in the county!

[@jenvcampbell]

That's very weird! I don't think any of these apart from The Subtweet are hard to get hold of in the UK, so I'm sorry your library can't get hold of them. Are you able to request for them to buy them in? You can do that at my local library. x

[@MnFliz1217]

My top reads for 2023 were… Parable of the Sower These Precious Days The Broken Earth Trilogy 🙏 Eileen !!!

[@theamethyst93]

I’m like 75% of the way through chrysalis right now and it’s so weird and unsettling. I don’t know what to make of the main character but I’m enjoying it.

[@jenvcampbell]

it doesn't really let you find your footing, does it? In a good way! x

[@RoseArnoldd]

My FAVOURITE book of the year by far was Monstrilio ❤ Followed by: Birnam Wood The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida All The Sinners Bleed I’m Glad My Mom Died

[@hardbackhypebeast]

YAAAAY (12 seconds in) 🤣

[@starlasell5698]

❤📚📚❤️

[@romalibra_books]

Have you read Chouette? I feel like you would love this one

[@jenvcampbell]

I have and I didn’t, sadly. m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/garZpYBorL-cors

[@AlmostFound]

The Centre was my #1 of 2023 🎉

[@jenvcampbell]

Excellent book! x

[@NiviAaru]

My favourite audiobook that I listened to in 2023 was The Wonder by Emma Donoghue

[@ChemicalPenguinn]

I discovered Mieko Kawakami's books at the very end of 2023, and I'm so excited to read her entire backlist!

[@jenvcampbell]

It's actually the only one of hers that I've enjoyed; I hope you have a better success rate! x

[@blaineliebnow1418]

have cookies and coffee with you every sunday

[@jenvcampbell]

🙂 x

[@wendyvilla2904]

🖤💚

[@jenvcampbell]

❤️

[@martasoltys9091]

Can you please review SOLARIS by Stanisław Lem, if you've never done it? Thank you.

[@jenvcampbell]

I haven’t read it, and it’s not on my TBR x

[@martasoltys9091]

@@jenvcampbell That's too bad. I recommended ORDNARY WONDER TALES to Amanda Leduc. I ordered WATCHING WOMEN AND GIRLS- sounds fascinating. I'm loving PET and I thought it was you who recommended it, but I was wrong. Thanks anyway.

[@designerproductions]

300 books!!! I read 24 hahaha

[@jenvcampbell]

Always worth remembering that books are my job. x